For Lisa, who no longer is here

1:31 AM,
Mar. 22, 2013

Written by

Craig Wilson
| USA Today

About the only perk that comes with age is that you get to watch your friends' children turn into interesting young adults. Not only that, if you're lucky, they become your friends, too. I'm happy to report it's happened to us.

Caroline and Susannah. Annie. Kara. Sarah. I often see these "kids" now without their parents, which is fun because then we can talk about how weird their parents really are.

Lisa fell into this category, too. I first met Lisa almost 30 years ago, a young woman with special needs who never met a stranger. She made Kathie Lee Gifford look like a recluse. ...